Church of the Creator: Creed of Hate
To round out the picture of C0TCs leadership struggle,
the following is a review of efforts by
Klassen and his chosen successors to maintain control and
direction of the organization.
Heirs Apparent: 1 - Rudy "Butch" Stanko
Klassen announced in February 1990 that his successor
as Pontifex Maximus would be Rudy
"Butch" Stanko, whom he described to COTC followers as an
"outstanding man, who has been tested
by fire and torture, by success and adversity."
Stanko, 46, was at one time owner of the Nebraska Beef
Packer and Cattle King companies. He
held contracts worth $20 million to supply ova 18 million
pounds of ground beef to public school
cafeterias until the NBC news program "First Camera"
reported in 1983 that the meat was produced
under unsanitary conditions. (Racial Loyalty later alleged
that the series, since canceled, was
"probably set up specifically and for no other reason than
to smear and slander Rudy.") The U.S.
Departments of Justice and Agriculture then investigated
Stanko, and the meat magnate was
convicted in 1984 of six violations of the Federal Meat
Inspection Act. He was sentenced to six years
in prison and ordered to pay a $70,000 fine.
Stanko apparently came to Klassen's attention while in
prison as the author of The Score, an
intensely anti-Semitic book which details how Stanko's meat-
packing corporation was destroyed by a
Zionist conspiracy. The 389-page tome opens with an un-Creatorly, though predictably hateful,
epigraph: "This book is dedicated to Jesus Christ. He was
the first to tell The Score about the
conspiracy of the Sanhedrin and its followers. For this they
crucified him." The book proceeds to
cover such topics as "Zionism"; "The Sanhedrin" and "Who
Rules America." It concludes with a
reprise of the megalomaniacal chestnut, "the Protocols of
the Learned Elders of Zion."
The felonious abattoir operator welcomed his
appointment as Klassen's successor by writing
in the February 1990 Racial Loyalty:
It is a great honor and a supreme challenge to be
selected as the next Pontifex
Maximus of the Church of the Creator.... It is my
avowed purpose to provide the
necessary leadership, organizational and promotional
talents to...smash the
tyrannical Jewish network once and for all time. It is
my hope and dedicated
goal to bring this about in the next decade, the last
decade history has allowed
us for the final showdown.
But, it was not meant to be. Though released from a
federal penitentiary in December 1991,
Stanko was arrested for speeding in his Nebraska hometown on
February 3, 1992. He was also
charged with obstructing a police operation, criminal
mischief, and driving with an expired license.
After being taken to the local jail, Stanko reportedly
wrestled with officers while they attempted to
inventory his property during the booking procedure. He was
then taken to a hospital, where he
broke a light fixture with a crutch; when police entered his
room, Stanko allegedly tried to assault an
officer with the crutch.
The Pontifex Maximus-elect was released on bond the
following evening. Though a February
11, 1992, Ashville Citizen-Times article reported that
Stanko was scheduled to assume COTC
leadership the following month. it also noted that a Montana
parole officer "said Stanko had told him
that he was not interested in taking over the church." The
Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Star-Herald
confirmed in a March 5, 1992. article that "Stanko said
recently he is no longer a reverend in the
church." The Star-Herald added that Stanko had filed a
$1.375 million lawsuit alleging police
brutality and civil rights violations in connection with his
February arrest. Stanko's lawsuit was
dismissed by a district court on May 29. 1992. He appealed
this decision to the Nebraska Supreme
Court, which upheld the lower court ruling in November 1992.
With respect to the criminal charges
pending against him, Stanko planned to enter a plea bargain
agreement in October 1993, in which he
will be sentenced for misdemeanor destruction of property
and speeding infraction violations.
Shortly after these incidents. it became clear that
Stanko would not be taking over the
leadership of COTC As Klassen scrambled to find a new
successor, he referred to his first attempt as
the "Rudy Stanko fiasco." Stanko nonetheless addressed
another temporary Pontifex Maximus, Mark
Wilson, in the November 1992 Racial Loyalty: "I want to
congratulate you on being appointed the
Pontifex Maximus and the new leader of the CHURCH OF THE
CREATOR.... I realize the
tremendous responsibility placed on your shoulders, and you
have my wholehearted support. If I can
be of any assistance in the Rocky Mountain West, please do
not hesitate to drop me a line."
Heirs Apparent: 2 - Charles Altvater
In early May 1992, Klassen announced that his new
successor would be Charles Edward
Altvater, 31, of Baltimore, Maryland. Unlike the notorious
Stanko, Altvater was almost completely
unknown prior to this sudden promotion. His only previous
mention in Racial Loyalty was a January
1989 letter to the editor, in which he wrote:
I go back to college in January and will soon have my
degree in electronics. The
C.O.T.C. gave me the incentive to make myself
successful so I can truly be an
asset to our Cause. I promise to have a Church of the
Creator under
construction here within the next 3-5 years and will be
spreading Creativity for
the rest of my days.
Last but not least, I'll be getting married later this
year and would very much
like Pontifex Maximus [Klassen] to perform the
services....
Only a month after the Altvater appointment, Klassen
changed his mind, naming Mark Wilson,
a Milwaukee Skinhead, as the new Pontifex Maximus. According
to Klassen, Altvater accepted the
demotion without rancor.
Apparently still intent on spreading the work of
"Creativity," Altvater came to public attention
once more on December 14, 1992, when he was indicted in
Baltimore on 16 criminal counts,
including attempted murder, reckless endangerment,
possession and manufacture of explosives, and
destruction of property. According to the indictment,
Altvater allegedly placed a bomb on the porch
of a Baltimore County police officer's home; he was also
alleged to have bombed a state police car on
the same day. There were no reported injuries in either
explosion.
A search of Altvater's home later revealed 92 quarter
sticks of dynamite. He currently is serving
two sentences in connection with the incidents: a 5-year
term for reckless endangerment and a 20-year sentence (seven years of which were suspended) relating to the pipe bombing charges.
Heirs Apparent: 3 - Mark Wilson (aka Brandon O'Rourke)
Mark Wilson, 25, first came to the attention of
observers of the radical right as a member of the
Wisconsin Skinhead gang SHAM -- Skinhead Army of Milwaukee -- also
referred to as the
Northern Hammerskins. He was introduced to Racial Loyalty
subscribers as Klassen's successor in
June 1992 under the new name "Brandon O'Rourke"; the
adoption of one or various pseudonyms by
COTC members is quite common, as it is for many in the white
supremacist movement, and it offers
individuals the obvious advantage of eluding, at least
temporarily, the scrutiny of law enforcement.
Under Wilson/"O'Rourke's" six-month tenure, the Church
of the Creator published only two
issues of Racial Loyalty, neither of which showed the
rhetorical intensity or palpable rage the tabloid
exhibited under Klassen, but the local organization
reportedly re-energized the Milwaukee Skinhead
scene. Wilson also established a close relationship with the
growing COTC presence in
Canada. particularly in the Toronto area.
Perhaps sensing, rightly though belatedly, that the
Milwaukee Skinheads' propensity for reckless
behavior would spin out of his ability to control, Klassen
abruptly dismissed Wilson as COTC chief in
January 1993. Unlike Stanko or Altvater, however, Wilson,
who was the first Klassen-successor to
actually take control of the "religion," did not go gently
into the good-night of hate-group obscurity.
According to the Klanwatch Intelligence Report, Wilson
loyalists even attempted a last minute "coup"
against the new, and current, leader, Rick McCarty, during
an early meeting with him at a Milwaukee
hotel. The plan was accidentally thwarted when police
arrested three members of the Wilson faction
on concealed weapons charges in the hotel parking lot.
Though Wilson's effort to retain power failed, he
remains active and disgruntled. After his
falling out with Klassen, the former Skinhead spread rumors
of the COTC founder's senility, and he
reportedly even asked WAR leader
Tom Metzger to take control
of the group; Metzger, who eulogized
Klassen in an August 16, 1993, phone message, has shown no inclination to grant Wilson's alleged request.
Heir Apparent: 4 - Rick McCarty
Richard Lane McCarty. 39, was utterly unknown in hate
group circles before Klassen announced
in January 1993 that he would take over COTC, and that its
headquarters were moving to Niceville,
Florida, a tiny community near the Gulf Coast resort town of
Pensacola. McCarty's professional
background apparently includes a career in telemarketing;
Klassen's introductory letter alleges that
the new leader had earned a Ph.D., and had a background in
business and psychology. However,
court records reportedly indicate that McCarty vas arrested
in 1985 on charges, since dropped, that he operated a telemarketing scam in Birmingham, Alabama, by claiming to sell distributorships for a soft drink company.
In March 1993, McCarty sent letters to Racial Loyalty
subscribers announcing that he would
appear that month on the nationally syndicated Sally Jessy
Raphael talk show. The letters stated:
"See Dr. McCarty P.M. and Executive Director of the C.O.T.C.
fight it out with the Jews and Muds. Even though the show was stacked with half-breeds, gays and muds Dr. McCarty held his own and pulled no punches.... We now have a leader to carry us into battle with the enemy. RAHOWA."
McCarty did appear on the program with three fellow
white supremacists_former Ku Klux
Klansman Scott Shephard;
Kirk Lyons, a one-time
National Alliance member who heads CAUSE, a
white supremacist legal defense agency; and an unidentified
Skinhead woman and Christian
"Identity" adherent. These extremists were joined by a
handful of comparably benighted Black
separatists.
Though it is doubtful that McCarty made much of a
national impact as a result of his television
debut, local newspapers began taking note of the white
supremacist in their midst the following
summer. A July 17, 1993, NW Florida Daily News article
reported that McCarty was stopped by
Niceville police on July 1, and charged with driving under
the influence of alcohol. The Pontifex
Maximus refused to sign his citation and is reportedly still
contesting the charge.
The Palm Beach Post quoted McCarty on August 2, 1993, using
rhetoric more subdued than
Klassen's. He told the paper, "People are finally waking up
to the fact that the white man is going to
have no country of his own. We don't have nothing against
anybody. We just want to repatriate the
blacks and Jews back to their countries of origin." The Post
also reported that COTC has no temple
or compound in Niceville, "but it does have a warehouse that
holds $500,000 in white supremacist
pamphlets, newspapers and books. They are distributed in all
50 states, and 37 foreign countries,
McCarty said."
McCarty's most recent letter to Racial Loyalty
subscribers was a eulogy of Ben Klassen. McCarty wrote:
[Typographical and spelling errors in original]
Three weeks ago Mr. Klassen came to visit with me in
Niceville, Florida. To
chart were the COTC had been and were we are going in
the future. Even
though we converse on the phone a couple of times a
week, we had not
physically seen each other since January.
When Mr. Klassen arrived and stepped out of his car I
held out my hand to
him. Mr. Klassen surprised me by pushing my hand away
and gave me a big bear
hug instead.... It was at that time I become aware of
the bond we had formed, of
the dreams and aspirations that we shared. Many times I
have asked myself why
I would take over such an awesome task and headaches of
running the COTC?
Each the time the same answer echoes back, "Mr. Ben
Klassen".
...I am still unable at this time to say good-bye to
Ben.... Ben came into my life like a coma, lit up the ski, and then moved on.
Next month we will have some articles going back to our
roots so as not to
loose crack of who we our, where we are going, and the
goals we plan to
accomplish. Every ending has a new beginning_Lets
begin.
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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The Search for a New High Priest